Tift basketball sets first round dates, times

Published 3:00 pm Monday, February 21, 2022

TIFTON — Tift County has set dates and times for the state basketball playoffs. The Lady Devils will host North Paulding Tuesday at 6 p.m. and the Blue Devils will travel to Marietta Wednesday, also for a 6 p.m. contest.

The Lady Devils finished as runners-up in last week’s Region 1-7A tournament. Tift’s boys were third, forcing the first round travel.

North Paulding brings an 18-10 record to Tifton. The Lady Wolfpack are the third place team in Region 3-7A, having tumbled to Hillgrove in the semifinals, 66-46, but recovering in the consolation to defeat Marietta, 40-37.

Alliyah Washington was North Paulding’s leading scorer against Hillgrove, with 16 points. Washington, a 5-foot-10 senior, might remind Tift fans a bit of Shakiria Chaney, She also hit the 1,000-point milestone this season.

Chaney and Tamyra Carter have the Lady Devils’ leaders on offense. Chaney is scoring at a rate of 15 points per game, with Carter at 12. Braxton Gipson is third at 7 points per game, with Mya Cushion adding 6 and Caitlyn Burgess at 5 points per game.

The teams do have one common opponents on the season — North Cobb. North Paulding swept North Cobb during the regular season, with Tift winning a Christmas tournament game at Sequoyah.

The Lady Devils have potentially one big advantage over their opponent. North Paulding has had a long road trip in 2021-2022, to the point they have not even been as far south as Atlanta itself.

Should Tift win, they would either host Roswell or play at Norcross in the second round.

The Devils take to the road for their first round game, facing an opponent they’ve already seen in another sport: football. Tift will be looking for revenge here, matching up their 12-13 record with Marietta’s 9-19.

Marietta entered the 3-7A tournament as the No. 5 seed, upsetting North Cobb and Hillgrove to reach the finals. There, they played a close game with Walton, before the Raiders ultimately prevailed, 53-47.

The northern Blue Devils have been a streaky team, winning their first game this season, but staring at a 1-5 record at the end of November, then a 2-10 in late December. Through their first 26 games, Izaiyah Nelson averaged 15 points per game to lead the team.

Tift’s scoring has been much more balanced this season. Tyler Parker scores at a rate of 9 points per contest. Will Clark, Torrence Galmer, Henry Gebhart, Christian Jones and Ty’Quan Mills all contribute from 5-7 points per game.

The locals’ speciality has been defense. Tift holds opponents to 47 points per game. Marietta is nine points behind at 56 points per game.

If Tift wins over Marietta, they would play either at Milton or at home against Meadowcreek. For boys and girls, second round games are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

Around the area, Berrien, Cook, Fitzgerald and Turner County will be active in first round basketball games.

Berrien sends its boys and girls to Northeast (Macon). Cook’s boys travel to Washington County and Fitzgerald’s girls play at Dodge County. Turner, like Berrien, not only has both teams playing, but in the same location. The Titans and Lady Titans both journey to Dublin.